Lend & Co

Lend & Co At Lend & Co, we provide one-on-one service to find the right loan for your circumstances - resident It has developed thanks to a commitment to helping others.

We are the property loan specialists, helping our clients to realise their dreams of homeownership or extend their portfolio across the residential and commercial property. Our story began with a passion for finance, numbers, and property. The approach we take is simple: offer the best customer service so clients can find the right loan for them. We provide personal attention and share expert know

ledge so you can make the right decisions and achieve the best results, sooner. Contact us to find out more.

Sitting on a large block and wondering whether to subdivide? The finance works differently from a standard home loan.Dev...
03/06/2026

Sitting on a large block and wondering whether to subdivide? The finance works differently from a standard home loan.
Development finance is assessed on the end value of the project, not just your current income. Lenders look at the feasibility: projected costs, expected sale prices, your experience, and the planning approvals already in place. Funds are usually released in stages as the build progresses, rather than as a single lump sum.
It’s a more involved approval than a typical purchase, and getting the structure right early makes a real difference to how smoothly it runs.
If a subdivision is on your mind, a conversation before you commit is time well spent.

If you’ve owned your home for a few years, you may already be holding the deposit for your next one.Equity is the differ...
31/05/2026

If you’ve owned your home for a few years, you may already be holding the deposit for your next one.
Equity is the difference between your home's value and what you still owe. As the loan shrinks and the property value rises, that gap becomes usable. Most lenders let you borrow against it, often up to 80% of the value, to fund the next purchase without touching your savings.
The catch is serviceability. Accessing equity means a larger loan, and the lender still needs to see that you can comfortably repay it.
Before you start house-hunting, it’s worth knowing exactly how much equity you can put to work.

Most failed SMSF property purchases share a common thread. They started with a question someone forgot to ask.Here are t...
28/05/2026

Most failed SMSF property purchases share a common thread. They started with a question someone forgot to ask.
Here are the 5 top questions worth answering before you go further:
1️⃣ Is the fund balance large enough? Most lenders want a minimum balance of around $200,000 in the fund before they’ll consider an SMSF property loan. Some sit higher. The fund also needs to retain enough liquidity after the purchase to meet ongoing obligations.
2️⃣ Is the property genuinely arm’s length? You can’t live in it, your family can’t live in it, and you can’t lease it to a related business. The use must be entirely independent of you and your associates.
3️⃣ Have you set up the bare trust correctly? The property is held by a separate trustee for the benefit of your fund. Getting the structure wrong after exchange is expensive to fix and can compromise the whole purchase.
4️⃣ Have you stress-tested the cash flow? The fund needs to cover the loan repayments, property expenses, and ongoing super obligations. Use realistic vacancy assumptions and rate movement scenarios, not best-case ones.
5️⃣ What does the exit look like? An SMSF property is harder to sell than a personal asset because the structure adds complexity for buyers. Plan how the property fits into your long-term retirement strategy before you buy, not after.
If you’re considering a property purchase within your SMSF, work with a broker, accountant, and adviser who regularly handle these transactions.


*This is general information only and not financial advice.

Most banks see an early-career doctor and tighten the criteria. Your employment history is short, your HECS debt is larg...
26/05/2026

Most banks see an early-career doctor and tighten the criteria. Your employment history is short, your HECS debt is large, and to a standard lender, that profile might read as risk.
A few specialist lenders see the same applicant differently, for four reasons:
1️⃣ Income trajectory matters. Income often jumps significantly between training years and consultancy. Specialist lenders recognise that and can assess borrowing capacity on projected income, not just your current pay slip.
2️⃣ HECS is treated more flexibly. For a high-earning specialist, the marginal HECS deduction barely moves the serviceability calculation. Some lenders model this accurately, while others apply a blanket reduction that hits early-career applicants hardest.
3️⃣ Employment continuity matters less. Most lenders want to see two years in the same role. For a registrar moving between rotations or a specialist transitioning into private practice, that bar is unrealistic. Specialist lenders work with shorter employment windows when the profession itself signals stability.
4️⃣ Loan-to-Value Ratios (LVR) go higher without Lenders Mortgage Insurance. Some lenders offer 90% to 95% LVR without Lenders Mortgage Insurance for medical professionals, saving tens of thousands at the deposit stage.
If you’re in the early years of your medical career and a standard bank has told you what you can borrow, it’s worth a second opinion from someone who works with healthcare lenders regularly.

That’s the line that stuck with us from a recent first-home buyer review. They expected confusion, paperwork stress, and...
25/05/2026

That’s the line that stuck with us from a recent first-home buyer review. They expected confusion, paperwork stress, and conversations they wouldn’t fully understand. Instead, we delivered a process that felt straightforward enough that the “first-time” element faded into the background.
Buying a home is genuinely complicated. Our expertise removes all the parts that trip people up, including document confusion, unexplained requests, or surprises in timing.
If you’re buying your first home, we promise to make it feel less daunting than you expect.

A family came to us last month about a home loan they’d taken out four years ago. They hadn’t reviewed their rate, and t...
21/05/2026

A family came to us last month about a home loan they’d taken out four years ago. They hadn’t reviewed their rate, and their repayments had become uncomfortable, especially with school fees, rising rates, and the cost of living squeezing the household budget.
We ran their numbers and found them a better rate that dropped their monthly repayment by over $400. Over the life of the loan, that meant an interest saving well into six figures.
That’s not an unusual story. Plenty of borrowers are paying 0.5% to 1.5% more than they need to, simply because they haven’t reviewed their loan since they took it out.
Refinancing doesn’t always work out. Sometimes the exit costs, fixed-rate break fees, or LMI requirements wipe out the savings. Sometimes the better play is to reduce your rate with your existing lender. Either way, the question is still worth asking.
If you haven’t reviewed your home loan in two years or more, fifteen minutes can tell you whether you’re sitting on savings worth chasing.

Most people stay with their first bank because changing banks feels like an effort: gathering documents, applying, settl...
19/05/2026

Most people stay with their first bank because changing banks feels like an effort: gathering documents, applying, settling. The friction usually outweighs the perceived benefit.
The reality is that “perceived benefit” is often $4,000 to $8,000 a year for someone who hasn’t reviewed their rate in a few years. Real money, every year, just sitting on the table.
Having someone walk through what your property situation could look like with the right lender, structure, and rate can make a big difference. If someone you know is renting and ready to buy, paying off a mortgage they signed up for years ago, or looking at an investment property and is not sure where to start, send them our way.

*Referral program details and T&Cs apply

Buying commercial property without considering the asset class is like buying residential property without considering l...
17/05/2026

Buying commercial property without considering the asset class is like buying residential property without considering location.
Warehouse, retail, office, medical, hospitality, and industrial all behave very differently. Let’s take a look:
Industrial and warehouse have been the strongest performers in recent years. Demand from logistics and e-commerce has driven low vacancies and rising rents in metro Melbourne. Yields have compressed as a result, but the income stability remains attractive.
Retail is more fragmented. Strip-mall retail with strong foot traffic and essential-services tenants (medical, food, childcare) continues to perform well. Larger discretionary retail has been mixed.
Offices sit in the most uncertain part of the cycle right now. Hybrid work has shifted demand. Premium A-grade office in good locations is still leasing, but B-grade and older stock is taking longer.
Medical and consulting suites are a strong niche if you can find them. Long leases, professional tenants, and resilient demand make them attractive to most commercial lenders.
Where you sit in your portfolio matters too. A first commercial purchase usually points toward something simple: a small industrial unit or a strata office in a stable area. Investors building a more diversified commercial portfolio can take on more complex assets once the lending track record is in place.
We’ve helped hundreds of people start and grow their commercial portfolios, and are happy to share our expertise.

There’s a lot of noise around Tuesday’s Federal Budget and proposed property tax changes, but here’s the key: nothing is...
14/05/2026

There’s a lot of noise around Tuesday’s Federal Budget and proposed property tax changes, but here’s the key: nothing is law yet.
What’s being discussed could impact CGT, negative gearing, and family trusts from 2027 onwards, particularly for investors. But beyond tax changes, there’s a broader flow-on effect worth paying attention to.
When policy uncertainty rises, lenders tend to tighten risk settings. That can mean reduced borrowing capacity, stricter servicing, and ultimately less capital flowing into the market. And when capital tightens, market dynamics shift.
The rules may change, but the smartest move right now is to stay informed and assess your options, rather than rush into decisions based on headlines.
Thinking about buying, selling, or reviewing your strategy? Let’s talk it through before you make your next move.

Starting a trade business usually goes something like this. You buy the van. Then the tools. Then more tools. Then a tra...
12/05/2026

Starting a trade business usually goes something like this. You buy the van. Then the tools. Then more tools. Then a trailer for the bigger jobs. A few years later, you’re looking at a small office or workshop because you’ve outgrown the garage.

Each of those purchases is a different finance problem. A van loan is straightforward. Specialised tools and equipment need an asset finance lender who knows your industry. A workshop or premises is property finance, with different rules again.

Trying to fit all of that under one home loan or one credit card is how trades businesses end up overstretched.
At Lend & Co, we look after the property side. Workshops, warehouses, retail premises, owner-occupier purchases, and commercial investment properties.

For everything that drives, hauls, or runs on a job site, our sister brand Dad’s Wallet handles the asset finance. Vans, trailers, tools, plant, and equipment.

If you’re growing a trade business and the finance is starting to feel piecemeal, one conversation can map out the structure that fits where you’re heading.

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Melbourne, VIC
3121

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Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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